AUGUSTA, Ga. – The GRU Augusta Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field Teams are traveling to Rome, Ga., this weekend, March 17-19, to compete in the Peach Belt Conference Championships. The meet will be hosted by Shorter University for the second consecutive year and mark the second time in history that the PBC will crown track and field champions.
GRU junior and defending conference long jump champion, Christian Collier, will be returning to defend his individual crown. Along with Collier, several other Jaguar athletes are expected to be in contention to take the top spot in their respective events. With both men's and women's squads coming off a solid spring thus far, the Jags will look to carry their momentum into weekend in hopes of winning their first conference title as a team.
All eyes this weekend will be on returning PBC champions, Alabama-Huntsville. Running away with two titles in 2013, Huntsville's women finished with a total of 171 points, while the men recorded a total of 164. The Jaguar men claimed sixth place at last year's meet, while the women notched eighth in their first year competing.
With a rise in the level of competition this spring and several PBC athletes already achieving NCAA qualifying marks, this weekend's championships will be nothing short of exciting.
Coach Adam Ward is excited for his athletes and is looking forward to the weekend of competition. "I am thankful for another great opportunity to represent the school at the conference level," Ward said. "With a young team, we're looking to improve upon last year's inaugural season and hopefully bring home some hardware. I'm proud of what we have been able to accomplish this season and look forward to what we can do at conference."